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FEBRUARY 2015 • WEEK ONE www.guardian.co.tt BUSINESS GUARDIAN
REGIONAL | BG17
Energy security is at the top of the
agenda for Caribbean leaders and
it has been for some time. With an
average cost of electricity four times
higher than in rich nations such as
the United States, high energy costs
are not only a daily hardship for
Caribbean people, but also one of the key bottlenecks
for unleashing economic growth and prosperity in
the region.
While the recent drop in oil prices is releasing
some of the pressure, it also represents an opportunity
to look into strategies for increasing energy security
in the region. This means investing in clean energy,
and saving energy through more efficient production
and consumption.
To help achieve this transformation, Caribbean
leaders and leading energy partners agreed to pursue
a joint regional framework for energy development
at the Caribbean Energy Security Summit this week
in Washington DC.
Most small Caribbean countries, particularly the
Eastern Caribbean States, depend almost entirely on
petroleum to supply their electricity needs; with oil
and gas expenditures taking between seven to 20 per
cent of a country s GDP.
The region has achieved nearly universal electri-
fication and almost all households are connected to
the grid, with the exception of Haiti. After the dev-
astating earthquake that hit Haiti s capital city of
Port-au-Prince five years ago, the availability and
reliability of modern energy services remains crucial
to the recovery and sustainable development of the
country, where only 28 per cent of the population
has regular access to electricity.
When walking in the streets of Port-au-Prince or
Basseterre in St Kitts and Nevis, you can now see
that many of the street lights are solar. The Caribbean
region has a diverse and large renewable energy poten-
tial, including not only solar, but also wind, geot-
hermal, biomass and marine energy. While solar and
wind are intermittent, they can be used in combination
with renewable geothermal power or clean natural
gas power.
A recent World Bank study showed that seven
Eastern Caribbean countries have potential for geot-
hermal energy generation, which would help reduce
costs for their oil-dependent electricity sector. On
the island of Guadeloupe, the La Bouillante power
station is already generating 15MW by means of geot-
hermal energy. Exploratory drilling and preparatory
work is happening in Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat,
St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Vincent and the
Grenadines.
Yet oil and gas-based electricity generation will
continue to dominate for some time. Another priority
agreed by Caribbean governments during the Summit
is to reduce inefficiencies in their
energy systems by sav-
ing ener-
gy and reducing waste. What this means is mod-
ernising electricity distribution companies and grid
systems, but also on the consumer side making build-
ings more energy efficient and replacing old equipment
and appliances, using for instance high efficient air
conditioners and LED light bulbs.
Today nearly one in two households in Barbados
is using solar water heaters. Throughout the island,
you can see solar panels and water heaters sprouting
from government buildings, hospitals, businesses and
thousands of bright colored homes. The solar industry
has become an important source of green jobs in the
country as Caribbean companies have led the regional
manufacturing effort for solar water heaters.
This green movement is also catching up in other
islands including Aruba where the government is
working with the hotel industry and investing in
more efficient and clean technology. By the end of
the year, Aruba will be using almost 50 per cent
renewables and its vision is to reach 100 per cent by
2020.
The World Bank Group is working with Caribbean
governments in supporting their efforts to modernize
the power sector with investments and regulatory
changes affecting both power generation and energy
efficiency to reduce retail tariffs, increase the reliability
of supply by diversifying and using renewable fuel
sources, as well as enhancing service delivery.
Such reforms are critical to improve the business
climate. For instance last year, Jamaica jumped 27
ranking positions in the Doing Business indicator
partly by making electricity less expensive as a
result of lower external connection cost.
Many donors and investors are supporting these
reforms and this is why a Caribbean Energy Invest-
ment Network was also proposed this week during
the Summit, to develop a new architecture of
cooperation for energy security
in the region.
This new network would not
only support greater cooperation
across islands and between gov-
ernments, donors, international
financing institutions, and
investors, but would also help
identify concrete steps that
Caribbean nations and develop-
ment partners can take to attract
investments for sustainable energy
initiatives.
By coming together and agreeing
to build a common platform,
Caribbean countries and their part-
ners showed their commitment to
make the energy sector more efficient,
sustainable and green. This is just the
first step to unlock the energy potential
of the Caribbean. We now need to
build on the momentum.
Caribbean360.com
Unlocking the region's
energy potential MARTINIQUE
BARDABOS
BARDABOS
ST KITTS
ARUBA